# How much mental in physical strength? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-mental-in-physical-strength/686425 "2014-04-18T16:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-mental-in-physical-strength/686425/21 "2014-04-19T17:28:58Z")
Is anyone familiar with karate? In the movies one sees the karate expert breaking a board with a thrust of the arm/hand. My expectation is that I would hurt myself if I tried this so I would hesitate at the moment of contact and not hit it with full force–a mental reaction. But I expect real world karate is different from movie karate. So perhaps someone familiar with real world karate could comment on the mental aspects. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-mental-in-physical-strength/686425/22 "2014-04-19T18:56:05Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Is anyone familiar with karate? In the movies one sees the karate expert breaking a board with a thrust of the arm/hand. My expectation is that I would hurt myself if I tried this so I would hesitate at the moment of contact and not hit it with full force–a mental reaction. > > But I expect real world karate is different from movie karate. So perhaps someone familiar with real world karate could comment on the mental aspects. The head guy of my old karate school [broke rock](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuT-dZjdsqI) with his hand at the 2010 Brooklyn Cherry Blossom festival. He’s like, 75. Breaking requires both mental strength and excellent mastery of body mechanics. There’s a definite technique to be learned, and you have to do exercises which strengthen your bones, its not just “hit the board real hard.” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-mental-in-physical-strength/686425/23 "2014-04-19T20:07:34Z")
Breaking boards does not require any bone-strengthening. Just hit with the grain, and follow thru. I sometimes had my students break a board on their first night, just to build confidence. (This was when I taught jujitsu.) You do have to condition your hands to break bricks. Although sometimes they doctor the materials to make it easier. It’s almost never a good idea to condition your hands, because it creates trauma to the joints and causes a pre-arthritic condition of the limb, and the ability to break bricks, rocks, ice, or tiles, has almost nothing to do with the ability to fight, or to deliver a disabling blow. Speed and accuracy have much more to do with that. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-mental-in-physical-strength/686425/24 "2014-04-19T20:22:48Z")
Classically, it was said that, to train an archer, you need to start with his grandfather. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-mental-in-physical-strength/686425/25 "2014-04-20T21:36:57Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Imho, all strength is mental. I think about it like this: to be strong, you have to do physical exercises almost daily for years. To do anything relatively unpleasant on a regular basis for years requires OCD-level mental strength. Then, when you actually do the act, your mind automatically tells you if you can or can’t do it. If you believe you can’t do it, most people won’t even try. This is true not only for feats of strength, but virtually everything we do in life. And then, during the act itself, it requires mental strength to overcome discomfort, pain, and any type of hurdle to complete the task. > > Without mental strength, there can not be physical strength. > [@Telemark](#): > > Unless you’re young and gifted. I’ve known many athletes who were capable of amazing physical feats without significant training. The ones who were gifted \*and \*trained were even better, no doubt. But some folks can be fairly high level without mental strength to train. I agree with Superhal. If you are the world’s physically strongest person, and you have no will to use your strength, then you are as weak as the world’s weakest person. And maybe worse off – in deep water you will drown unless you are willing to paddle, where a fat weak person can float with no exertion at all. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-mental-in-physical-strength/686425.md?page=1)